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In Ephesians 4 Paul is reviewing the history of the Body of Christ – from its prior infancy, under the auspices of Israel, to its positional maturity as the “Perfect Man.” He is showing how the Body functioned in the previous Acts Administration. These Ascension Gifts had to do with the Body’s childhood phase, while it was under the parental guardianship of Israel (with Abraham as father and Jerusalem as mother) and has nothing to do with its mature sonship position as the “One New MAN” (Ephesians 2:15).
Among other things, the Secret Administration has no “offices” or “gifts” – no “bishops,” no “deacons,” no “apostles,” no “prophets,” no “evangelists,” and no “shepherd-teachers.”
The “Perfect Man,” having left childhood behind, has become “the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.” This “Perfect Man” (4:13) is the “One New Man” (2:15). This “One Body” (2:16; Colossians 3:15) is the leading component of the “unity of the Spirit” to which we have been brought and are to endeavor to “keep” (Ephesians 4:3-6).
Thus, the “Perfect Man” is a positional unit in which we now have standing, rather than an individual state that we have achieved.
Clyde L. Pilkington, Jr.
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